Senator Armstrong - A Deconstruction of Villainy

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ต.ค. 2024
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  • @rohankishibe6433
    @rohankishibe6433 ปีที่แล้ว +5425

    "Raiden calls armstrong insane, as if thats a disqualifying factor in American politics."
    Truer words have never been spoken.

    • @sorryimcringe
      @sorryimcringe ปีที่แล้ว +121

      I died laughing when I heard that at work

    • @michaelatlas2341
      @michaelatlas2341 ปีที่แล้ว +97

      Because his idea of a good and responsible politician is that of the one who reads from the teleprompter and says all the correct things all the time, while they do the exact opposite of what they claim, while keeping their atrocities hidden, which is something the "good" people/American, that you and this ytber clearly think you are, absolutely love. Nothing says moderation and intelligence like slowly dehumanising your political opponents down to the individual! Yay for democracy!

    • @djroscurro9859
      @djroscurro9859 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      especially true in light of recent events lmao

    • @GuilmonLover2010
      @GuilmonLover2010 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +29

      @rohankishibe6433: Unfortunately. Being insane *should* disqualify you from politics.

    • @dansmith1661
      @dansmith1661 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      They have rules about disallowing crippled people from running for President and Roosevelt still got elected, four times. It's all acceptable if you fooled the people.

  • @acgearsandarms1343
    @acgearsandarms1343 ปีที่แล้ว +7766

    MGR was surprisingly right about the memes. The game outlived and surpassed it’s own story. Ahead of its time, truly. Memes aside, Armstrong is just… a very good antagonist.

    • @jjtheenton
      @jjtheenton ปีที่แล้ว +608

      If I had a nickel for every time a Metal Gear game featuring Raiden as the protagonist contained political and social commentary that only became more and more relevant each passing year, I'd have two nickels.
      Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?

    • @theRobson0908
      @theRobson0908 ปีที่แล้ว +170

      I feel like raiden shines because he's much more "vulnerable" as a character at least it feels to me that I can connect more to Raiden and less to solid,naked,venom snake i sadly dont player all games of the series just 2,3,5 and rising

    • @athos9293
      @athos9293 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      @@jjtheenton Crazy how everything is meme here, including what i just wrote

    • @Astrael_Yearly
      @Astrael_Yearly ปีที่แล้ว +7

      isn't there an american division about memes?

    • @breadbucket66
      @breadbucket66 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      ​@@jjtheentonanother day for thanking god that Raiden isn't the main guy of mgs4 or we are absolutely fucked

  • @lexcentrique2554
    @lexcentrique2554 ปีที่แล้ว +1859

    In Senator Armstrong's defense, the nanomachines aren't JUST a cheat. When you realize that Raiden is also augmented, it means nothing anymore. The bigger aspect of the nanomachines are that the senator's enhancements are completely invisible, giving the illusion that he's fighting with his own hands, instead of for something he doesn't understand. This shows very well with his 5 minutes speech: He was being cornered by Raiden and beaten up, but once he began to talk about his own speech, he slowly began to regain strength.
    Armstrong is not just powered by money... he's powered by convictions. There's a reason why he doesn't use a blade or anything else but relies on brute force, mankind's oldest weapon.

    • @ravenoferin500
      @ravenoferin500 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +157

      And ain't there nothing more American than that son? While guns are in the DNA since literally landing here the modern American loves their strongmen, the football player, the boxer, the MMA fighter. There's something about seeing someone beat the absolute tar out of another that drives the modern man to cheers. Maybe it's feeling impotent compared to all these heroes we have raised. Can't start a nation like the founding fathers or win the West like mythological cowboys but damn can I punch whatever. Punch it so hard that everyone has to see reason. It's America at it's most cartoonish and controllable. The dreams of politicians and populist is to control that wave and to direct it as they see fit.

    • @lexcentrique2554
      @lexcentrique2554 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +89

      @@ravenoferin500 Not just American, pop... universal it is. As much as fists were outdone by bullets, there is always that masculine pride in being able to punch somebody so hard they start to see stars. There's a reason why Popeye decides to throw haymakers instead of unloading a gatling magazine on Bluto. There's a reason why boxers wear gloves and not shotguns.
      The naked body is a weapon that's universal to mankind even back in the days where they were physically closer to monkeys. Even with nothing but underwears equipped, you can still ball up your fist and punch. Tie your fists and you can still kick somebody. Tie your legs and you can still headbutt somebody. No matter how many fancy stuff you use to fight... your body is always ready for an ol' fashioned beatup.

    • @BetterCaulipowerSall-vq9yn
      @BetterCaulipowerSall-vq9yn 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

      A character's strength is dependent on their political convictions.

    • @billycotcamp
      @billycotcamp 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

      It's not necessarily political conviction or anything in that matter. It's the aspect of realizing that in this day and age. It's either you push your morals on to someone else. Or they push theirs on to you. It's been that way for ages. It's just that we keep forgett, and we let the fantasy of new ages, clouds, ower judgments of what we still do. Or what we should do.

    • @alexcat6685
      @alexcat6685 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      22:34

  • @thorny7138
    @thorny7138 ปีที่แล้ว +7807

    Not only would Sen. Armstrong get votes, he'd be VERY popular.

    • @SomeoneThatExists-rj5oo
      @SomeoneThatExists-rj5oo ปีที่แล้ว +420

      I mean he is now

    • @dasrubberduck7331
      @dasrubberduck7331 ปีที่แล้ว +574

      He’s gonna make America great again 🇺🇸🦅

    • @stev3548
      @stev3548 ปีที่แล้ว +474

      I'd vote for him, no contest.

    • @geronimo5537
      @geronimo5537 ปีที่แล้ว +314

      He had my vote after that first sentence when we get asked if he would get votes. Restoring freedom of the individual and the right to choose.

    • @Ticketman99
      @Ticketman99 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      How would Pres. Sears have done in comparison?

  • @ShinigamiSparda
    @ShinigamiSparda ปีที่แล้ว +2936

    The fact the Armstrong is a "might makes right" villain that *actually believes* might makes right both makes him unique and terrifying because... you can't really argue with him. Try to claim good triumphed over evil? *Nope.* You just beat him at his own game. You followed his rules, and you were just the better player. So many "might makes right" villains crumble at the end, revealing it as just a flimsy argument for them to be in charge. The fact Armstrong at the end goes "Yup, you win. You make the rules now" and follows through on his stated philosophy makes him extremely difficult to beat in a battle of ideals.
    And in the end... Yeah, he and Raider *aren't* so different. Armstrong is all like "I want a world where the strong take what they want and the weak are extinguished, and I'll kill anyone in my way to do it." Meanwhile Raiden is like "I want a world where the strong protect the weak, where the hungry and poor are fed and taken care of... *and I'll kill anyone in my way to do it."*

    • @ForOne814
      @ForOne814 ปีที่แล้ว +360

      I mean, that's because might does make right. That's just how the world works. You can do whatever you want, including good things, if you have enough power to do so. And if you don't, your ideals are irrelevant, because you'll be forced to do what someone else wants. Any law works only as long as it's enforced, after all.

    • @kylehankins5988
      @kylehankins5988 ปีที่แล้ว +142

      @@ForOne814the concept of “right” is about what should happen not about what does happen. Either way people often choose to construct institutions around their moral/ethical beliefs.

    • @ForOne814
      @ForOne814 ปีที่แล้ว +104

      ​@@kylehankins5988 depends on the definition. Stuff like "human rights" is absolutely more of a guiding principle and not an actual enforceable thing. They are about what should be done, and rarely things that are being done even remotely follow those notions. To the point that I honestly don't care about them, those are just buzzwords to me. But property rights, labor rights, gun rights? Those are both docrtinal and actual enforceable rights. They are both about what should happen and what is happening. Those are actually important.
      My actual point is, while you can disagree with the principle, you can't change it. And because you can't change it, you should follow if, if you wish to achieve desirable results. Whatever those results are is irrelevant.

    • @HungVu-ec3jk
      @HungVu-ec3jk ปีที่แล้ว +114

      it was "the weak should get stronger" for armstrong, he doesn't hate the weak, he just doesn't care (about neither the strong nor the weak)

    • @kylehankins5988
      @kylehankins5988 ปีที่แล้ว +48

      @@HungVu-ec3jk he was indifferent to almost everyone involved, although that doesn’t make his ideas any less insane.

  • @marcgittard9534
    @marcgittard9534 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +757

    "That's a nice argument, senator. But why don't you back it up with a source!?"
    "My source is that I made it the fuck up!"

    • @juanmejiagomez5514
      @juanmejiagomez5514 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +43

      Exquisite meme Jack

    • @ayden4870
      @ayden4870 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

      Heh heh, Max0r go brrrrr

    • @LordVadersCape
      @LordVadersCape 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Honestly this is American politics too 😂

    • @merakimelodies8931
      @merakimelodies8931 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      😂😂😂

    • @CantideDiesIrae
      @CantideDiesIrae 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      honest and intelligent, he has my vote

  • @lamcb.9476
    @lamcb.9476 ปีที่แล้ว +1390

    The whole bit where Armstrong is so happy that Raiden caves in only to be betrayed three seconds later after a almost vulnerable handshake and hug, you can’t help but briefly feel sorry for him, he is THAT charismatic. As batshit insane as he was, he was still charismatic as hell

    • @Humaricslastcall
      @Humaricslastcall ปีที่แล้ว

      Batshit insane, and in any other time wouldn't be even given a time of day... but if he actually existed, he'd get votes. He'd be quite bipartisan, and maybe he could actually achieve the goal he wanted if he doesn't drive the country into the ground.

    • @Kim_YoJong
      @Kim_YoJong ปีที่แล้ว +75

      He's not insane. This world is.

    • @CrazedFloridaMan
      @CrazedFloridaMan ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ​@@Kim_YoJonghe was kidnapping children and stealing their organs alongside making them fight wars

    • @revengance4149
      @revengance4149 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @@Kim_YoJong #Im14andthisisdeep

    • @Kim_YoJong
      @Kim_YoJong ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @revengance4149 I'm 37 and Armstrong is right.

  • @tristansylvester1079
    @tristansylvester1079 ปีที่แล้ว +789

    Holy shit i just realized. Armstrong tells jack to "fight for something you believe in" and he literally does. Once he has sams sword, jack starts fighting for an ideal hes always believed in but denied: revenge
    God this game is so fucking GOOD

    • @chenkaichuang8305
      @chenkaichuang8305 ปีที่แล้ว +73

      REVENGEance you might call it

    • @ruzgar1372
      @ruzgar1372 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      I am not up to the complete lore of Metal Gear games. Why would Raiden want revenge from Desperado? Because they produce the same kinds of child soldiers like how he was once?

    • @tristansylvester1079
      @tristansylvester1079 ปีที่แล้ว +70

      @ruzgar1372 revenge specifically might not be exactly correct, but Raiden has multiple reasons to hate desperado. Child soldiers, them starting wars, death of the president and his injuries from the beginning. If you wanted to stretch you could say this was sams revenge too for what Armstrong did to him.

  • @Wolf_Dominic
    @Wolf_Dominic ปีที่แล้ว +2238

    To be honest, he’s almost like Thanos in a way. He knows exactly what the problem is, but his solution to the problem is the most horrible, and insane solution anyone can think of.

    • @nottarealname8067
      @nottarealname8067 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +158

      That's an interesting but accurate viewpoint..

    • @sebastianfilip6459
      @sebastianfilip6459 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +162

      True . There us nothing wrong with wanting freedom. But how Armstrong wanted to implemented and the methods he used to achieve his goal are wrong

    • @DrakeKnight99
      @DrakeKnight99 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      No he fucking isn't. Thanos was a guy trying to wipe out half the universe for a booty call and the mcu one is a pseudophilosophic dumb ass
      Watch Panther as Star Lord. He couldve used the Embers to fix everything but then again the mcu is plagued with shitty writing and retconned lore

    • @vudangtung5638
      @vudangtung5638 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +88

      ​@@sebastianfilip6459Armstrong was the eren before eren then lol. Armstrong solution to freedom is cull the weak, and eren takes it a step further and decided that the solution to freedom is kill literally everyone else lmao.

    • @viking1430
      @viking1430 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@vudangtung5638 Armstrong strongly believed on his own ideals, while Eren ended up being a pathetic cuck who didn't even knew what he was doing. I 100% blame twitter, zoomers and the editor for messing up Isayama's work, assuming he's not a hack.

  • @arx3516
    @arx3516 ปีที่แล้ว +3168

    I always thought that when Armstrong says "weak" he doesn't actually mean the powerless, the disadvantaged in society, but rather the "morally weak", people without conviction, without willpower, the kind of people that drifts along the current of life, those who let themselves be easily influenced. And by contrast, the "strong" are the people who have the balls to stand up for what they believe in, those who work hard to accomplish their dreams. Wich i think fits perfectly with the American myth, Armstrong wants America to go back to the time of the frontier, a society of self made men. And Raiden is the perfect example of Armstrong's ideal, he was a child soldier and managed to survive, he was a tool of the Patriots and managed to break free from their control.

    • @melly7921
      @melly7921 ปีที่แล้ว +505

      You explained this perfectly. America has deep roots in the values of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps”. I don’t really know how to articulate this right now but conviction and the desire to be something more permeate American culture, and that is what Armstrong wants for all of the country.

    • @WallNutBreaker524
      @WallNutBreaker524 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      Indeed.

    • @UmbraBree
      @UmbraBree ปีที่แล้ว +230

      This is actually his point. But he poorly articulates it to the point the video completely misses his point

    • @CrowXIII
      @CrowXIII ปีที่แล้ว +93

      The latter is what he means, the former is what it obviously would happen

    • @Chillipeffer
      @Chillipeffer ปีที่แล้ว +180

      This is what Armstrong's first theme, "Collective Consciousness" criticizes; those souls who didn't have the confidence to establish themselves in society and better themselves rather giving in to their existence as one person in a land of many, along with the upper class that manipulates them into carrying out their will for them.

  • @theshermantanker7043
    @theshermantanker7043 ปีที่แล้ว +2913

    The fact that a guy like him is still more willing to give someone on the other side a chance than the average political person today soeaks volumes

    • @justinweber4977
      @justinweber4977 ปีที่แล้ว +345

      So, a Teddy Roosevelt.
      Fun fact, Teddy wanted to fight in WWI, but the army denied his attempt because they were worried about what an ex-president being killed in battle would do to national morale.

    • @zaffran1117
      @zaffran1117 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      sad but true lol

    • @Butter_Warrior99
      @Butter_Warrior99 ปีที่แล้ว +119

      @@justinweber4977 That’s a nice anecdote, why don’t you back it up with a source?

    • @elemperadordemexico
      @elemperadordemexico ปีที่แล้ว +208

      ​@@Butter_Warrior99my source is that I made it the fuck up

    • @tiglishnobody8750
      @tiglishnobody8750 ปีที่แล้ว +71

      @@justinweber4977 Also King George VI and even Winston Churchill wanted to enter into direct military in WW2 as they both once serving in army before but in the end they decide not to, not only they bit too old but also they worry how would Uk react if they lose King and Prime Minster altogether in war

  • @thepicklemanofficial9907
    @thepicklemanofficial9907 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +295

    Once in high school, in history, we were all told to make our own political campaign for president. A lot of people worked in groups, but i worked alone because i didnt wanna risk my idea being overrulee. My idea was to copy and paste armstrongs ideology. I had a speech and some advertisements, and i got first place. The american people love this guy

    • @Benito675
      @Benito675 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +78

      Congratulations, you have officially made the mother of All omelettes, without fretting about a single egg

    • @macebee5587
      @macebee5587 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +26

      Truly a certified big boss solid snake metal gear moment

    • @MoldyMcdonut
      @MoldyMcdonut 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

      i want to see your presentation.

    • @literallytohruadachi
      @literallytohruadachi 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      @@macebee5587Literally a kiefersnake venom snake body double moment

    • @macebee5587
      @macebee5587 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@literallytohruadachi me when my dad and brother keep trying to kill me in new bodies and I hit on every chick i see.

  • @Matt_History
    @Matt_History ปีที่แล้ว +2065

    Every single enemy in MGR used augments, Armstrong using them is not cheating. It literally serves as an explanation as to why he isn't destroyed by his own men or Raiden.

    • @meepfanmeepster8620
      @meepfanmeepster8620 ปีที่แล้ว +308

      I think what brett is referring to is while Armstrong states he desires individual strength he is infact relying on the collective support of those who made the nanomachines

    • @mfmageiwatch
      @mfmageiwatch ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ​@@meepfanmeepster8620no, he's using his own resources to buy those things. His world view is intact, even if this brainlet video essayist does not get it. That's like saying someone in the wild west with a similar world view was cheating by using a 6 shooter instead of his fists. It's idiotic.

    • @____________838
      @____________838 ปีที่แล้ว +74

      I’d love to know if he had that size and physique prior to the nanomachines.

    • @maniacone4499
      @maniacone4499 ปีที่แล้ว +60

      Not everyone.
      Jetstream Sam has no augments and was still able to hold his ground against Raiden.

    • @____________838
      @____________838 ปีที่แล้ว +191

      @@maniacone4499 “Samuel Rodrigues, also known as Jetstream Sam and Minuano (ミヌアノ, Minuano?), was a cyborg mercenary involved with the Desperado PMC group who fought against Raiden during the events of 2018. “
      “Sam did not have many cybernetic enhancements, as Raiden discovered upon killing him, having maintained most of his original body. Instead, he was equipped with a powered exoskeleton (serial number 977-AZQEE) that enhanced his strength, durability, speed and agility to incredible superhuman levels, as a means of matching up to other cyborgs. Sam's only cybernetic replacement was his right arm, although he displayed great skill in the use of his Murasama sword prior to this.”

  • @justsomejerseydevilwithint4606
    @justsomejerseydevilwithint4606 ปีที่แล้ว +869

    "Raiden destroys the death murder robot, Then, armstrong marches out and beats the crap out of raiden with his bare fists" is a sentence that could ONLY come from the Metal Gear Franchise.

    • @alexcat6685
      @alexcat6685 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      12:04

    • @MrSpartan993
      @MrSpartan993 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      Maybe Devil May Cry too.

    • @SuperZergMan
      @SuperZergMan 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      Or Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

    • @weareharbinger914
      @weareharbinger914 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Actually, it also describes Lore Genome from Gurren Lagann. In that anime too, the man is actually more powerful than the giant robot.

    • @justsomejerseydevilwithint4606
      @justsomejerseydevilwithint4606 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@weareharbinger914 Given that that's Gurren Lagan, I'm not surprised.

  • @MyViolador
    @MyViolador ปีที่แล้ว +433

    "Fk 24/7 of trivia and celebrity bullshirt and the media" He got a point there

    • @Joe-xq3zu
      @Joe-xq3zu 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +29

      Man would get my vote just for that

    • @HuneeBruh
      @HuneeBruh 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +26

      He would definitely vote for that TikTok ban lmao

    • @quintencornelissen2274
      @quintencornelissen2274 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      ​@@HuneeBruh it should be banned everywhere tbh

    • @GamingOfSolace
      @GamingOfSolace หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      because it's such a low-hanging fruit take

  • @DreamyAileen
    @DreamyAileen ปีที่แล้ว +1256

    Armstrong's reliance on nanomachines for his physical strength is perfectly in line with his worldview. Being able to lead people and convince them to do what you want _is_ a strength.

    • @HarleyHerbert
      @HarleyHerbert ปีที่แล้ว +142

      yeah, even if a person isn't physically strong there's still other strengths they can use to get what they want, whether it be intelligence or charisma or willpower or whatever else. Physical strength isn't the only way to get what you want and Armstrong seems to acknowledge this fully

    • @Bluedragon-iz3oo
      @Bluedragon-iz3oo 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +96

      I look it more as, if you aren’t strong, then get stronger. He acknowldge that Raiden was weak at one point and grew to become stronger. So it is not the power you are born into, but power that you have. Nanomachine are just one way to obtain power, and it is foolish not to use it. I feel it is wrong for Brett to call him hypocritical for this. It is totally in line of his philosophy.

    • @Lord.Mind_Flayer
      @Lord.Mind_Flayer 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

      I though it was pretty clear he was talking about will power , those who are willing to stand up for what they belive in and fight for it.

    • @周生生-f1f
      @周生生-f1f 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      @@Bluedragon-iz3oo It is hypocritical as that nanomachine tech (along with the shitton of stuff he bought and/or hired) is clearly not a product of sheer willpower, but a fuckton of employees and the finance to fund and maintain everything.
      Which means financial and social prowess (as Armstrong could not have had gain access to clearly unusual technology were he to not have statuses). Which means tangible, quantified strength.

    • @user-hliudpn
      @user-hliudpn 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      He isn't self controlled, which is strength.

  • @dragoknight589
    @dragoknight589 ปีที่แล้ว +1794

    I think Armstrong failing to see the flaw in his logic gave him a crucial weakness in his fight with Raiden. When Blade Wolf showed up with Sam’s Murasama, he doesn’t believe Wolf would be willing to sacrifice himself to let Raiden kill him. He tries to intimidate him. If he helps Raiden, he’s dooming himself.
    Armstrong believes that if you want a job done right, you need to have the strength to do it yourself. He doesn’t believe in self-sacrifice to further a cause. So when Wolf challenges this line of thinking with his own actions, Armstrong’s completely blindsided. He goes for Wolf instead of trying to maybe catch the Murasama or something. He only sees Wolf as another one of the nonsense-spouting helpless nobodies he’s purging.

    • @StarshadowMelody
      @StarshadowMelody ปีที่แล้ว +200

      If I remember right, Wolf said something to the effect of "Yes, I am programmed to value my own well being first and foremost" or something _and then immediately contradicting what he just said his programming is._

    • @Drekromancer
      @Drekromancer ปีที่แล้ว +320

      @@StarshadowMelody He showed that he's more than his programming, and more than his selfish nature - which instantly refuted Armstrong's entire worldview. That's powerful stuff.

    • @dragoknight589
      @dragoknight589 ปีที่แล้ว +142

      @@johndoe8655 Armstrong’s a hypocrite, though. He sees the nanomachines as his own power, even though he just bought the enhancements. My point is not that Armstrong doesn’t see the value of collective effort. My point is that he doesn’t understand what Wolf would have to gain from self-sacrifice.
      Wolf does end up surviving, of course, but I feel like that’s more because Armstrong didn’t get the chance to completely finish him off.

    • @dragoknight589
      @dragoknight589 ปีที่แล้ว +95

      @@StarshadowMelody Wolf doesn’t contradict it, but rather states that he’s moved beyond his programming. He says something like “I can establish my own parameters and directives now, so I’m choosing to prioritize Raiden kicking your ass over my ass remaining intact”

    • @DeathMessenger1988
      @DeathMessenger1988 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      Heh, it's less that Blade Wolf was pointing out a flaw in his logic, and more like Blade Wolf was applying Armstrong's logic to himself. He decides to make his own choices and fight. Armstrong, following the logic, just accepted the challenge and started punching, may the best man/dog/being win.

  • @OriginalTrapstar
    @OriginalTrapstar ปีที่แล้ว +489

    I love how Armstrong changes his attitude when he thought he got through to raiden. It shows his honesty. He doesn’t want war to have war he admits he wants one last war to end all wars. A man by his word as insane as it is. He sticks by his goal and doesn’t deviate. He wants exactly what he says. So yes he definitely would win if he was real 😂😂😂

    • @ElBandito
      @ElBandito 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +11

      Nah, Armstrong looks for tools he can use to further his own interest. The man was a manipulative politician through and through.

    • @MsMrapplepie
      @MsMrapplepie 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +31

      Well, most Americans would have the same mindset towards old enemies too, so long as they’re “genuine” or serve our interests. You don’t think the U.S would love to get along with Russia more? The only thing stopping us is a difference in idealogy

    • @mote_vengador2832
      @mote_vengador2832 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +13

      ​@@MsMrapplepieideology isn't the problem it has to do with economics and worldwide influence

    • @deauthorsadeptus6920
      @deauthorsadeptus6920 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

      ​@@mote_vengador2832Kinda. Same deal with Europe, there is many cooperation, but the second us isn't on first place...they are on their own. This is a dirty game, and you can prosper in peace only by being the best, one way or another.

    • @mote_vengador2832
      @mote_vengador2832 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@deauthorsadeptus6920 sadly it is like that but eventually one way or the other the superpowers would have to cooperate further

  • @berkgulec5819
    @berkgulec5819 ปีที่แล้ว +1532

    I always thought Armstrong's idea of strong isn't purely physical but overall strength. Like a smart person is also considered strong for him.

    • @kjj26k
      @kjj26k ปีที่แล้ว +233

      The first king may very well not have been the strongest warrior in the tribe, but the rather the best at manipulation who convinced the strongest he had ideas so good he should be the one who tells everyone what to do.

    • @Gustav_Kuriga
      @Gustav_Kuriga ปีที่แล้ว +189

      That's exactly correct. He isn't just talking about physical strength.

    • @MHAOvercharged
      @MHAOvercharged ปีที่แล้ว +116

      That's the same point I have about Armstrong. He doesn't mean it by physical only. He means it mentally as well. With great strength, it's useless without a strong mentality. You'd only have a barbarian if strength is dominant

    • @laerbear6760
      @laerbear6760 ปีที่แล้ว +123

      Yes. Though it's not enough to be smart. He sees people who risk themselves to satisfy their desires as strong. A politician sending soldiers to die for something they don't believe in is the ultimate weakness to him.

    • @haydentravis3348
      @haydentravis3348 ปีที่แล้ว

      Not because they're smart, but because they've used their intelligence to gain power over others. It's all domination with these types of people.

  • @cui8789
    @cui8789 ปีที่แล้ว +495

    There's a nice detail about Armstrong and Raiden's fight in the cutscene. Raiden manages to briefly get the upper hand while tearing apart Armstrong's supposed reason for his plot. Then when Armstrong finally admits what his real goals are, he gets back to thrashing Raiden easily. In other words, Armstrong is at his most powerful when he is honest about who and what he truly believes.

    • @user-uq9se1nx9q
      @user-uq9se1nx9q ปีที่แล้ว +24

      Or, maybe, it is Raiden who is stronger when he believes he is fighting pure evil

    • @teslashark
      @teslashark ปีที่แล้ว +18

      It's effectively Raiden's idea too: The dominant worldview always came from the ruling class.

    • @Stryfe52
      @Stryfe52 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      ⁠@@user-uq9se1nx9qOh, definitely. That’d also link back into his tool of justice thing and the Ripper dilemma he had. Struggling against Armstrong wasn’t necessarily because Raiden lacked power, but because he went in trying to slice through Armstrong apart like he was just some purely evil villain.
      Once Raiden realized the truth of Armstrong and why they really had to be enemies, *that* was when he could finally start the real fight.

    • @chriscormac231
      @chriscormac231 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @@teslashark "No matter who wins justice will prevail, because those who win decide what is just" -Donquiote Dofaminco

    • @teslashark
      @teslashark ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@chriscormac231 Yeah, Oda and Kojima are pretty open about drawing from Marx's observations about culture formation

  • @joecroft4274
    @joecroft4274 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +133

    As insane as Armstrong is, his perspective on war is more noble than our current understanding. War is young men dying and old men talking as the quote goes. But in Armstrongs world people will fight on their own terms instead of being shipped off to a country they don’t know to a war they don’t want to fight for reasons they’ll never truly understand. At least if Armstrong’s word existed, if people were going to fight they’d be fighting and dying on their own terms for their own reasons which is arguably better than what we currently have.

    • @ferrik1675
      @ferrik1675 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +38

      Except even that idea is flawed, because the idea of unrestricted power being based on strength ultimately means being unrestricted from just… Forcing people to fight for you. And having people fight for you, would be called war.
      His ideology would come full circle into the same society he complains about, where the masses (or in this case, the weak) become sheep to the few (or in this case, the strong). The strong would simply reinforce weakness amongst those below them, because why not? Nothing’s stopping them from doing so.
      So, no, you’d still end up with young men dying and old men talking.

    • @ByteDeity
      @ByteDeity 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      ​@ferrik1675 It's the mother of all omelettes.
      Can't fret over every egg.

    • @Peter_Turbo4
      @Peter_Turbo4 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@ferrik1675Strength of Conviction, not just strength of Body.

    • @kagakai7729
      @kagakai7729 21 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      @@ferrik1675 Except he would just point out that if you didn't like that, you should get strong and force everyone to _not_ do that. Strength and might makes right have no implicit bias for any one way of ruling. If the strong choose to rule through example, kindness and loyalty, or if they choose to subjugate and enslave, it makes no difference to Armstrong.

  • @King_Hehehe
    @King_Hehehe ปีที่แล้ว +1986

    Armstrong is a type of villain that I've been craving more of for a long time: A caricature of the negative aspects of American Exceptionalism, but presented in the bombastic and undeniably contagiously fun way that American patriotism tends to present itself with. In the same way Captain America represents the ideals that America strives for, Armstrong represents the ugly realities of America and its culture, but presented in an equally stars-and-stripes-laden package. It's a form of villainy that presents itself with the look and feel of the good guy. It's a very realistic portrayal of how villains can be compelling ideologically and aesthetically, using a real-world template that we're very familiar with. We need more things like this.

    • @kingofhearts3185
      @kingofhearts3185 ปีที่แล้ว +173

      Homelander from The Boys hits the same beat. Putting on the mask of this god loving, america first patriot, wearing the flag as a cape. And then you hear him complain about the marketing bs they make him say and realize he doesn't care about anyone but himself and his image in the most cynical ways possible.

    • @geronimo5537
      @geronimo5537 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      Hmm I would as armstrong is right up there with the illusive man from mass effect. Humanity first, make humanity great again. Humanity will lead the other species.

    • @URangryX
      @URangryX ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Nicely stated.

    • @JMObyx
      @JMObyx ปีที่แล้ว +13

      I wonder which characer represents a positive caracature of American Exceptionalism?

    • @SomeGuy_Somewhere
      @SomeGuy_Somewhere ปีที่แล้ว +66

      Armstrong directly rejects American Exceptionalism in literally very next cutscene when he talks about how America is rotten to the core & how he hates American pride & everything around it. He's anarchistic to the highest degree.

  • @MegaDrain
    @MegaDrain ปีที่แล้ว +641

    To this day, my favorite reaction to Armstrong is when Super Best Friends played. When Armstrong said, "I have a dream" Matt and Patt both said, "What?" Then Raiden said it too and they just absolutely burst out laughing. God damn poetry right there.

  • @thegatorhator6822
    @thegatorhator6822 ปีที่แล้ว +174

    Completely lost my mind when I played this a decade ago and he quoted both Martin Luther King Jr and Ronald Reagan in the span of like 3 and a half minutes.

    • @PirateKingBoros
      @PirateKingBoros หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Armstrong: “I have a dream.”
      Super Best Friends Play: “What?”
      Me: “What?”
      Raiden: “What?”
      Everyone watching/playing the game: ***dies of laughter***

  • @kainewton-tm7zr
    @kainewton-tm7zr ปีที่แล้ว +914

    Something that i noticed when Armstrong dies is that he completely covers Raiden's shadow when he falls, reinforcing the fact that Raiden and Armstrong are the same,since Raiden carved his path through sheer determination and strengh and that is exactly what Armstrong was talking about when he was giving his speech about the strong purging the weak. This means that Armstrong was just the shadow of Raiden, they WERE the same.

    • @Lightna
      @Lightna ปีที่แล้ว +111

      Even the song during the final boss fight reflects this and the neat part of that particular song is who is singing it? Is it our hero? Or is it the villain? Either way, the two of them came to the same conclusion and yet had massively different paths to reach that conclusion.

    • @marcelberes469
      @marcelberes469 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      ​@@LightnaI've seen many treat it as a dialogue between them.

    • @kainewton-tm7zr
      @kainewton-tm7zr ปีที่แล้ว +71

      ​@@Lightna I heard that the theme that plays when you fight the MG Excelsius (Collective Consciousness) is Raiden's perspective of Armstrong and his morals before his speech and how he believes Armstrong is just another corrupt ruler, somewhat similar to Big Brother in 1984. The theme after he realises Armstrong has a different philosophy than just "Control the people's thoughts, Control the economy" shows that in a way, Raiden agrees with him, but its too late for talking out of it after Raiden gets Sam's sword, hence the name "It Has To Be This Way", he didn't want to fight Armstrong, but at that point he had to. idk tho, its up for negotiation since there's multiple views on it and that's just my view. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

    • @Koyuki_Yukihime
      @Koyuki_Yukihime ปีที่แล้ว +18

      and after the end credit Raiden actually keep on fighting , keeping Armstrong's legacy on going .

    • @theenderdestruction2362
      @theenderdestruction2362 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      ​@@Lightnaive always seen it as the two doing it in unison sorta

  • @ekamsingh1640
    @ekamsingh1640 ปีที่แล้ว +678

    This guy is the reason I love Videogames. By far the best video game villain, Zeus my ass. The most quotable, iconic and fun character out of one of the best game franchises. Metal gear rising is my favorite game and this guy is 90 percent of the reason.

    • @jjtheenton
      @jjtheenton ปีที่แล้ว +86

      The funny thing is the director told the localization team to embellish Armstrong's politics. In a bizarre twist for English localizations, we have a better version of Armstrong than Japan does.

    • @geronimo5537
      @geronimo5537 ปีที่แล้ว

      Hmm I would as armstrong is right up there with the illusive man from mass effect.

    • @kaydgaming
      @kaydgaming ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Very quotable… so quotable in fact that (Trump)

    • @SomeGuy_Somewhere
      @SomeGuy_Somewhere ปีที่แล้ว

      The Boss & Liquid are way better.

    • @PunishedSnakeV
      @PunishedSnakeV ปีที่แล้ว +5

      ​@@SomeGuy_Somewhereopinions brother

  • @ArkhamSause
    @ArkhamSause 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +197

    To Armstrong, the nanomachines are just another gun, and he's just the right American with a licence

    • @SinHurr
      @SinHurr 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      "Licenses are for pussies." - Armstrong, probably

    • @riceballsmashpokemongamere1705
      @riceballsmashpokemongamere1705 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Why does this go hard though-

    • @007Delta_art
      @007Delta_art 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Senator Armstrong wouldn’t give to rats *sses about a license, let’s be real.

  • @loganmeier6130
    @loganmeier6130 ปีที่แล้ว +245

    His ideas, on paper, aren’t terrible. While he does take it to the extreme, he wanted a world where the people came before the government. And he works to prove his goals.

    • @stephenlee1664
      @stephenlee1664 ปีที่แล้ว +75

      He was also willing to fight and die for it. He may be a madman, but god damn does he have balls to go face to face with a cybernetic ninja psycho.

    • @kjj26k
      @kjj26k ปีที่แล้ว +12

      ​@@stephenlee1664
      ...while being even stronger (at least he thought).

    • @abokabsa
      @abokabsa ปีที่แล้ว +23

      ​@@kjj26khe was stronger than raiden, raiden only won because of the murasama.

    • @Epistolary8
      @Epistolary8 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      He wanted a world where it was morally acceptable to kill people you disagreed with. No thanks.

    • @Kataquan
      @Kataquan ปีที่แล้ว +9

      He literally quotes Umberto Eco's essay "Ur-Fascim". He's a cartoonist platonic ideal of what a fascist is.

  • @mettatonex7221
    @mettatonex7221 ปีที่แล้ว +109

    My favorite line from Armstrong is after he went on his rant on everything wrong with America, Raiden asks how he got elected, and his response is "Well, I don't write my own speeches." Everything he said is unhinged and highly controversial, and he knows it damn well. It's a line that implies that he know how to work the system in spite of his radical beliefs.

  • @IshayuG
    @IshayuG 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +62

    The funniest thing in that cutscene is that Senator Armstrong's slogan is Make America Great Again. That's absolutely incredible.

    • @PirateKingBoros
      @PirateKingBoros หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Just like Trump he’s taken inspiration from Reagan for better or for worse. 💀

    • @Khotetsu
      @Khotetsu หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@PirateKingBoros And Reagan took it from the America First party, a pro-Nazi political group from WW2 who took the phrase from someone else before them. It has a long history as the slogan for American nationalists and antisemitism.

    • @SarcasmSanctioned
      @SarcasmSanctioned วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@PirateKingBoros Definitely worse.

  • @nickpolatas8433
    @nickpolatas8433 ปีที่แล้ว +1465

    Kojima’s understanding of the American psyche is always incredible.

    • @NightCap7
      @NightCap7 ปีที่แล้ว +91

      Hideo Kojima had very little to do with this game as it released

    • @runbaa9285
      @runbaa9285 ปีที่แล้ว +184

      ​@@NightCap7he was still a consultant, so every story element had to be approved by him. It's in the gameplay where he was truly hands-off

    • @rakshithanand8262
      @rakshithanand8262 ปีที่แล้ว +130

      @@NightCap7 The story of MGR was done in collaboration with Kojipro after the decision was made to shift from a prequel to a sequel of MGS4, Kojima was brought in to consult.

    • @Web720
      @Web720 ปีที่แล้ว +52

      Makes sense he is a Westaboo.

    • @magnawaves
      @magnawaves ปีที่แล้ว +35

      Kojima wants to be american so bad

  • @reflectingdoggo278
    @reflectingdoggo278 ปีที่แล้ว +1586

    I think you missed a great opportunity to talk about how gameplay can show a character's personality
    Raiden, for example, moves with agility and grace while chopping his enemies to bits, showing his combat experience as well as his ruthlessness.
    However, Armstrong is different.
    Armstrong is by far the easiest boss is block/parry in MGRR because all his attacks are so slow and telegraphed, showing just how inexperienced he is.
    However, he is still dangerous due to his massive health bar, his fire attacks that are hard to avoid, his powerful melee that hit like a truck, his throwing building at you that you have to cut precisely, his self healing that you can interrupt if you're quick. Everything is due to his nanomachines.
    All this helps show, (remember show, dont tell) you about Armstrong's worst and best traits. He is powerful not because he is hard working or talented but simply because he is rich enough to buy a shortcut.
    But on the other hand, he fights more honourably than every other boss (except Jetstream Sam)
    Mistral uses Dwarf Geckos to harass you while you fight.
    Monsoon uses smoke grenades and uses his unique body to attack from a distance and avoid attacks. While also throwing helicopters, and giant spinning wheels of death.
    Sundowner uses a helicopter to attack and harass you. He uses explosive shields, and he sends goons and swings massive poles at you when he starts losing.
    Compared to that, Armstrong may be a privileged, powerful villain but he has ideals and principles, and you can see that in how he fights because, unlike all those bosses he doesn't fight dirty and accepts his loss with dignity
    I had to rewrite this comment 5 times because TH-cam kept crashing.

    • @gabrielblanchard3081
      @gabrielblanchard3081 ปีที่แล้ว +51

      Great comment

    • @thefallen2220
      @thefallen2220 ปีที่แล้ว +67

      He does throw giant debris tho

    • @Omega-jg4oq
      @Omega-jg4oq ปีที่แล้ว +23

      This is no longer a comment, it's fcking document

    • @LordTyph
      @LordTyph ปีที่แล้ว +269

      Um... I'd point out that the dude makes it a point that his training is military and sports. He doesn't have refined swordsmanship like Jetstream Sam or advanced cybernetic bodies like the other Winds. He's slower and clunkier because he's a fleshy human bolstered by Nanomachines (, son).
      It's not that he's inexperienced, he's just not as refined as Sam or as advanced as people like Monsoon.
      Not only that, due straight up calls out Raiden's attempt to play him up as some suit only for him to point out that not only did he go to a more 'standard' college, he actually gave up a pro career in football to serve his country. Dude's more of a hard worker than you give him credit for, and does care about America. Too bad he's also ****ing nuts.

    • @hjalmarrosen3681
      @hjalmarrosen3681 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Nice

  • @otakubacklog
    @otakubacklog 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +35

    Love how Armstrong has gone from an over the top cartoony villain when this was first released to now where he’s an over the top cartoony villain that is UNCOMFORTABLY familiar.

    • @Khotetsu
      @Khotetsu 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      MGR understood America better than most Americans.

    • @skycastrum5803
      @skycastrum5803 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Lol, the parts that actually are familiar are great.

  • @Loot_Bugs
    @Loot_Bugs ปีที่แล้ว +241

    I can’t believe this guy is voiced by the same guy as Mimir from God of War. The two characters could not be more different.

    • @filipporapetti9354
      @filipporapetti9354 ปีที่แล้ว +75

      Imagine Raiden carrying around Armstrong's reanimated head as he continues rambling about America 🤣

    • @Kaisolostudio
      @Kaisolostudio ปีที่แล้ว +23

      Actually a few times, I thought “hey, he sounds familiar” 16:43

    • @DeathMessenger1988
      @DeathMessenger1988 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      Already made a joke about this in another video. AND the fact he's also the same guy who voices Celebrimbor in Shadow of Mordor/War! XD
      Armstrong would respect the HELL out of Kratos, and you know it.

    • @jjtheenton
      @jjtheenton ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The voice of Alucard in Hellsing is also the voice of Sundowner.

    • @jjtheenton
      @jjtheenton ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@DeathMessenger1988Greek Saga Kratos, but not Norse Saga.

  • @gokugoalie1817
    @gokugoalie1817 ปีที่แล้ว +436

    Armstrong is the kind of guy I would go to war for. Not because he's a great politician, but because I know he would be jumping around ripping up tanks and truly helping in the war.

    • @jooot_6850
      @jooot_6850 ปีที่แล้ว

      mfw Biden steps in the Ukraine war and obliterates an entire Russian batallion

    • @Kim_YoJong
      @Kim_YoJong ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Same, but for the opposite reason

    • @metanightmare4454
      @metanightmare4454 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

      I mean, to be fair, name me ONE politician from the last century that you're truly confident was both morally and mentally upright and had a meaningful impact. The nature of the job itself just attracts the power-hungry, the narcissistic, and the delusional. Y'know, all the people who view themselves as the main characters of real life. So what really makes Armstrong worse than any of them? They're all guilty of similarly twisted aspirations, so why NOT side with the one who genuinely believes in his cause rather than just manipulating everything for his personal benefit and who has the means and competence to succeed in his mission. The bitter truth is that humanity isn't really capable of producing leaders who can be good people while remaining effective in their efforts to bring about change. You often have to fight dirty to accomplish anything, but you probably won't have a very positive impact on the world if you do fight dirty. Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Entropy will win out in the long run, anyway, so unless you're comfortable just being passive, neutral doormat, there's not really an objectively better option to get behind than someone like Armstrong. It really just comes down to if your subjective ideals are compatible with his.

    • @dansmith1661
      @dansmith1661 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I would but YT would censor him. A politician who was put through the grinder of humanity and trashed on his whole life, yet managed to fix everything that plagued his country.@@metanightmare4454

    • @iantaakalla8180
      @iantaakalla8180 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      So basically, the only hope for the future is luck that a politician wants what the people want and is hellbent on that front as opposed to human vices?

  • @filipvadas7602
    @filipvadas7602 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +117

    The relationship between Raiden and Armstrong, despite having such a short time to develop, is arguibly the highlight of their interaction.
    Despite seeing the former as a threat to his plans, Armstrong sees Raiden as the perfect example of a "self made man".
    A child soldier who survived, was trained to be Snake's equal and became a nigh unstoppable cyborg "vigilante"
    And as far as Armstrong's idea of "strength" its probably not literal strength, but *moral* strength. Someone who is unwilling to compromise his own morals for something as base as greed and where politics doesn't get in the way of good people like Raiden dealing out true justice.
    Its why he's not too mad at dying once he realises that Raiden's eyes have sort of been opened by his journey throughout the story. Like he said, he left behind a worthy successor.

  • @supremcaos
    @supremcaos ปีที่แล้ว +467

    Saying Armstrong is a "cheater" for his nanomachines is like saying Raiden is one for his cybernetic enhancements. The strength Armstrong refers to isn't a purely physical one anyways.

    • @dean_l33
      @dean_l33 ปีที่แล้ว +39

      I didn't even realize he ignore raiden cybernetics completely

    • @mercury2157
      @mercury2157 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Raiden didn't ask to be a cyborg though, to be fair. Considering the lengths Armstrong went to in order to conceal his augmentation, it's safe to say he did.

    • @supremcaos
      @supremcaos ปีที่แล้ว +47

      @@mercury2157 He did ask for an upgraded body, considering he would have never been able to defeat the winds, let alone Armstrong, with his older one.

    • @jakobwilliamzachariassen2640
      @jakobwilliamzachariassen2640 ปีที่แล้ว +44

      i'd even go as far as to argue it's perfectly fine under his own ideals, just be strong enough to get the nanites, whether that being to get yourself into the position where you have access to it legally, or just stealing it or what have you, that's perfectly fine in his own ideology, armstrong became a politian through various 'strengths' like charisma, intelligence and through having made connections and the like, that strength gave him access to the nanites.

    • @josephbolton5893
      @josephbolton5893 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@supremcaos Well. He was originally turned into a cyborg when the Patriots abducted him and forced those modifications onto him. So yeah, he didn't ask to be a cyborg. But he did ask to get that upgraded body after Sam nearly killed him.
      Still agree with your initial point anyway.

  • @VeralionRawr
    @VeralionRawr ปีที่แล้ว +169

    You misunderstand.
    Money is also a form of strength, power. The product of work, influence, skill. He earned his enhancements and did not "cheat" any more than Raiden, who is in a body that is also worth an insane amount of money.
    Plus, look at him. He's jacked to the point of being peak human. His flesh looks as strong as physically possible. If using nanomachines makes him weak, then relying on a HF blade also makes Raiden weak. Such tools are just necessary to fight in this universe.
    The greater irony is that a man who espouses radical individualism is powered by billions of cooperating robots.

    • @HungVu-ec3jk
      @HungVu-ec3jk ปีที่แล้ว +7

      you expect an intangible consciousness to do everything?

    • @davidlewis6728
      @davidlewis6728 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      a lot of people who have never read hubert spencer (or in this case, haven't played the game) assume social darwinism is survival of the physically strongest, ie: muscle and brutality. they are the thickskulled muscle-brains they imagine themselves standing against. survival of the fittest refers to adaptation, fitting in.

  • @autistic_rat1234
    @autistic_rat1234 ปีที่แล้ว +247

    Putting aside all the fighting, I feel bad for Armstrong when jack is tricking Armstrong by giving false hope. He Picks jack up, dusts him off, and even gives jack a hug. When jack tricked Armstrong and pushes him aside you can see the pure disappointment in his face, like bro was just looking for a friend 😢.

    • @ElBandito
      @ElBandito 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +18

      Nah, Armstrong looks for tools he can use to further his own interest. The man was a manipulative politician through and through.

    • @land_and_air1250
      @land_and_air1250 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

      He was delusional. He thought that his strength up till that point had granted him through self interest and because he deserved to win up till that point through being strong that therefore Jack would agree with him. It was his defeat ideologically before the physical loss he would soon face

    • @meh4294
      @meh4294 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Bro you took his bait 😭

    • @BallerDickson
      @BallerDickson 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@ElBandito I don’t really agree with that he just wanted to be on the same side as one is the epitomes of strength

    • @ElBandito
      @ElBandito 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@BallerDickson Easy to be on the same side with strength when one is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and is a Senator. Never be fooled by demagogues.

  • @buddermonger2000
    @buddermonger2000 ปีที่แล้ว +330

    The reason I know that Armstrong would get votes, is that he's the most popular character in the game. By a huge margin. And even I have gotten into that.
    And I think what nails is is "I have a dream" which is the best line for his entire characterization. I don't know if this line was developed by the localization team, or if the writer truly did understand this man, somewhere along the line, this man became as American as any American you could find. Even more so. America hates bureaucracy and committees culturally as well. It's fundamentally populist as well desiring things in the hands of people. It's a very VERY deep understanding of how America ticks which plays right into almost every American's worldview.
    I think however what this analysis misses is how "the weak" fits into Armstrong's worldview. It's not just the physically weak. It's the people who abuse the system and such actions. It's not the child on the side of the road. And to him, that's just an impetous become stronger.

    • @tio_john
      @tio_john 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Exactly people miss his point all the time he isn't talking only about the fisicly weak he is talking about useless burocrats that abuse the sistem they have total control. He wants to wipe the slate clean off all the bullshit.

  • @HStorm26
    @HStorm26 ปีที่แล้ว +289

    my favorite kind of villian: the kind whose ideology isn't entirely wrong, just taken to an extreme. Individual freedom is important, self-determination is important, but armstrong's dog-eat-dog world would be pretty terrible. chaos and mayhem isn't very epic.

    • @geronimo5537
      @geronimo5537 ปีที่แล้ว +69

      The best part about Armstrong is that: he speaks about freedom like a libertarian, wants total control like a democrat, and is more patriotic to the cause than a republican.

    • @orrorsaness5942
      @orrorsaness5942 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@geronimo5537this

    • @ghoulbuster1
      @ghoulbuster1 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@geronimo5537 Based

    • @comediccomrade5716
      @comediccomrade5716 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@geronimo5537amazing
      (here before somebody starts an argument)

    • @kjj26k
      @kjj26k ปีที่แล้ว

      ​​@@geronimo5537 As Brett said, every American can find something agreeable in Armstrong.
      And unfortunately, it's clear that that is all it takes. ONE agreeable thing and all the rest can go f*ck itself.

  • @MynameisBrianZX
    @MynameisBrianZX 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +23

    Japanese writers often criticize America and its culture in a particular light based on America’s foreign policy, including Japan as an unequal and conditional ally. I think Senator Armstrong sums it up the most blatantly, and this helped me spot the pattern show up more subtly in so many other stories.

    • @EricTD1995
      @EricTD1995 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Especially, since the drop.

  • @burgscratch6301
    @burgscratch6301 ปีที่แล้ว +142

    I mean, in all fairness, almost no villain in MGR fights using 'their own strength'. They're cyborgs, their strengths come from their kit and how experienced they are in using them, in addition to certain underhanded tactics. Out of all of them, Armstrong is the most grounded and fair out of all of them.
    Sure he is roided with nanomachines, but all that's doing is just buffing his physical might and endurance. Everything else is just him pulling on his own 'martial prowess'.
    I'd say given the worldbuilding and the story, the nanomachines were a great compromise. Armstrong used what was needed, but it isn't like he's able to summon minions, create invulnerable shields, cut anything into ribbons, or be able to split his body and put it back together. He's just all roided up so his bluster can pack some literal punches.

    • @HeavySighSA
      @HeavySighSA ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Armstrong literally needs to suck the energy out of the world around him for his nanomachines to work. Unlike every other villain in the game, all his strength has to come from sources outside himself.

    • @HungVu-ec3jk
      @HungVu-ec3jk ปีที่แล้ว +31

      @@HeavySighSA thermodynamics called, it wants you back in the lecture hall

    • @Urd-Vidan
      @Urd-Vidan ปีที่แล้ว +14

      ​@@HeavySighSA in a way, doesn't Raiden also do that, with his enemies electrolytes and him taking his enemies weapons for himself?

    • @HeavySighSA
      @HeavySighSA ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@Urd-Vidan Could be argued, but the electrolytes seem to be mostly used for repair, as Raiden can use blade mode even if he's out of energy. So that's an argument that is tied to player effectiveness.
      Conversely, Armstrong's fight literally starts with him draining energy out of his giant robot for his powers to even work, and he continually tops himself off during the fight.
      Without a convenient external power source to drain, Armstrong has no power, much like how his personal business needs the forces of brainwashed kidnapped orphans to drum up business while Armstrong claims to follow an ideology that wants people to 'fight their own battles'.

    • @Urd-Vidan
      @Urd-Vidan ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@HeavySighSA
      Tbf, that's part of his powerset. Almost all the bosses in the game have their own "hacks" that give them something over Raiden. Even Raiden is a state of the art cyborg that's continuously evolve in the game by taking his opponent's weapons along the way(Examples like Mistral's arms and Sam's sword). Armstrong's philosophy doesn't only mean physical strength, but also mental strength and willpower to take what you want, with the power to do so. It's overall strength. He's still following his philosophy, even when born with a silver spoon. He took opportunities and put in the work to get to where he is. He used everything he was born with to the maximum. Even in death, he still won with Raiden, the ideal citizen for his "America", who took his ideology.

  • @calsalitra4689
    @calsalitra4689 ปีที่แล้ว +366

    Pretty good, but I have some criticism. Armstrong isn't talking about strength of body, but strength of will. He desires a country defined by the Ubermensch. People like Raiden and Armstrong who will fight, suffer, even die for ideals wholly their own. He believes that those with strength of will will naturally stamp out the weak like Khamsin, who fight for empty ideals they don't understand, fight wars they don't care about, cowards who create death and suffering for no purpose and yet beg and plead when given the same treatment.
    Of course this is still a nonsensical ideal for the same reason that the utopia Andrew Ryan wanted was an impossible ideal: someone has to scrub the toilets. It sounds cool if everyone was their own master off fighting a meaningful battle against ideals they don't believe in, but unless you have "weak" workers without their own 50 page essay on ideals who just kind of work and chill, everything breaks down.

    • @geronimo5537
      @geronimo5537 ปีที่แล้ว +74

      The best part about Armstrong is that: he speaks about freedom like a libertarian, wants total control like a democrat, and is more patriotic to the cause than a republican.

    • @anthonynorman7545
      @anthonynorman7545 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Yep, he's a bona-fide fasc!

    • @samfire3067
      @samfire3067 ปีที่แล้ว

      And Sam don't forget Sam.

    • @CapnCoconuts
      @CapnCoconuts ปีที่แล้ว +66

      ​@@anthonynorman7545 "Everything I Don't Like Is Fascism"

    • @gabrielespana319
      @gabrielespana319 ปีที่แล้ว +63

      @@anthonynorman7545he’s an extreme libertarian if not a full blown anarchist. That’s basically the polar opposite of Fascism. Sure they have the same strongman idea but in execution they’re polar opposites.

  • @riddell26
    @riddell26 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +30

    His son was killed in a pointless war that served the interests of shareholders. He wanted to make sure that never happened again

    • @iamme4494
      @iamme4494 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Yet the narrator never explains that point

    • @bingbong8239
      @bingbong8239 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Wait, I can't find information that Armstrong had a kid

  • @craneboy11
    @craneboy11 ปีที่แล้ว +234

    If Armstrong really were a cheating coward, that would mean he’s afraid of actually losing and dying. He expresses no fear of anything like that. That’s why Sam was working for him. When Raiden literally kills him, he only expresses admiration for him. Armstrong dies only telling Raiden that he hoped to have taught him something through it all. No fear, and only acceptance

    • @noxuqiii
      @noxuqiii ปีที่แล้ว +4

      he played college ball yk

    • @iantaakalla8180
      @iantaakalla8180 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Also, Armstrong outmuscled Sam, and Sam expected a quick solution which was the cutting of stuff. Even there, Armstrong had a stronger will than Sam.

  • @WoobertAIO
    @WoobertAIO ปีที่แล้ว +579

    Armstrong only says that his Nanomachines harden with physical trauma. But this doesn't really make him stronger, just more durable.
    On the contrary. Making your muscles and skin more rigid and resistant by hardening them up would decrease their elasticity, and by extension your physical strength.
    So not only is Armstrong really that strong on his own - he was fighting with a handicap.
    Edit: Btw yes please gimme some more Metal Gear content.

    • @helluvagooddrawer2027
      @helluvagooddrawer2027 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      That's interesting

    • @juliegrine2875
      @juliegrine2875 ปีที่แล้ว +81

      That just means that you don't mess with this senator

    • @destroyercreater98
      @destroyercreater98 ปีที่แล้ว +76

      If anyone doesn’t get it. He basically said “harden skin doesn’t make you hit harder. It makes your moves slower and more rocky.”

    • @leachblah6313
      @leachblah6313 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      He's actually really strong. Raiden can lift thousands of tons of steel or stop a moving ship. And we can see Armstrong stoping and catching Raiden punches or straightup wrestling with him.

    • @what1048
      @what1048 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      Didnt he absorb the electricity from the metal gear which gave him strength and powered his nanomahines

  • @william2glaser227
    @william2glaser227 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +143

    He sounds like less of a villain then any politician we have today, you could’ve convinced me he was the protagonist if you wanted to

    • @land_and_air1250
      @land_and_air1250 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      He would have the world burn to live in a world where he is the only free man

    • @william2glaser227
      @william2glaser227 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +19

      @@land_and_air1250 at least there would be one truely free man

    • @william2glaser227
      @william2glaser227 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

      @@Hariburger are you suggesting that current us politicians wouldn’t do that?

    • @kitsune6363
      @kitsune6363 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​​@@william2glaser227"Government is more gooder in real life then Armstrong the bad guy, the news and my favorite entertainers and influencers said so (I actually have no clue what happens in the world but if anyone tells me about the WEF and NWO that's just a conspiracy theory!1!!)"

    • @Timurmars
      @Timurmars 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      ​@@Hariburgeronly not long ago, the coffee giants signed a document that using slave and child labor is bad, what kind of morality are you talking about?

  • @RedMageGaming
    @RedMageGaming ปีที่แล้ว +107

    Raiden's Strength also comes from his Cybernetic Body. So I don't see this so much as a hypocrisy on Armstrong's side, just a scaling issue. We are at a scale where, money provides strength. I think what it boils down to is a level of naivete, Armstrong is naive enough to think that that kind of true freedom would be anything more than a continuing of the status quo as it is. The "Haves" ruling over the "Have Nots" Nothing would truely change if he succeeded, things would just get harsher as there would not be layers of political and socioeconomic fuckery between people with money and power, and their want to just trample everything they see as beneath them.

    • @CrystalLily1302
      @CrystalLily1302 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      Yeah, Armstrong represents the naive ideals of absolute individual freedom that americans lean towards, I think it's odd to characterize the fact that his strength comes from money as a contradiction when that money is clearly something that is understood as an expression of strength by that ideology.

    • @Makorze
      @Makorze ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@CrystalLily1302 Its a shame they didn't include Armstrong's interactions with Sam. Armstrong has no issue with a man going out into the world and destroying those he perceives as evil and bringing justice down upon them (like Raiden does) but tells Sam that the evil he wishes to defeat is like a Hydra - just cutting off one head at a time won't kill it - You need something greater than yourself to pull it out at the roots.

    • @jakobwilliamzachariassen2640
      @jakobwilliamzachariassen2640 ปีที่แล้ว

      i imagine that some people would just straight up assasinate the 'havers' and steal cybernetics or whatever, they have the strength to do it so why not ya know? the people rising up and overthrowing the system are also using strength to pursue they own goals and ideals, not like there aren't a shit ton of people who would have the means and motives to do so, this IS america after all

  • @SocraTetris
    @SocraTetris ปีที่แล้ว +332

    I think that a big part of senator armstrong's character that often goes misses is that he is also a caricature of Japan's own nationalists and warhawks. The kind of people that admire the country'a dominance during wwii and the economic excess of the 80s without knowledge of nor care for the atrocities that took place within those periods.

    • @emblemblade9245
      @emblemblade9245 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      I think you have a good point

    • @ravenoferin500
      @ravenoferin500 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Nationalism is a meme repeated over and over across the world so yeah parallels can be made. The sweeping under the rug of past tragedies and the heightening of glory.

    • @dansmith1661
      @dansmith1661 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Sounds like a win/win to me.

    • @oniemployee3437
      @oniemployee3437 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      You could, in theory, have that. The dominance without the atrocities, or at the very least a lot less heinous ones compared to Imperial Japan.

    • @Daud-ix4tm
      @Daud-ix4tm 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      I feel like it could be a caricature of both the U.S and Japan during those times

  • @imdabous1970
    @imdabous1970 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    That final shot of the dying Armstrong lying perfectly in Raiden's shadow would have perfectly set up another game.... If it was ever possible.

  • @jjtheenton
    @jjtheenton ปีที่แล้ว +403

    I was _not_ expecting a MGR video from Brett, but I have never been happier to see one. Greatest antagonist in video games.

    • @thatdoofus4529
      @thatdoofus4529 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The only antagonist I know well that could possibly rival him is Mephiles from 06, and that's only because he gets so much screentime. He's great, but Armstrong is exceptional

    • @boney2982
      @boney2982 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@thatdoofus4529and this is more or less the only screen time Armstrong really gets until dlc it’s insane how well written he was for essentially an hours worth of game at most

    • @thatdoofus4529
      @thatdoofus4529 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@boney2982 Exactly! In just 40 minutes of cutscenes he outshines 99% of any kind of media's antagonists (books, movies, video games, etc.)

    • @boney2982
      @boney2982 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@thatdoofus4529 the Japanese are truly a different breed when it comes to a lot of fiction

    • @thatdoofus4529
      @thatdoofus4529 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@boney2982 Alot of their work is peak. Studio Ghibli has a really good game called Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch, I highly recommend. Very good and cute rpg, but not afraid to hit you with a lot of dark narratives

  • @ryebananabread7843
    @ryebananabread7843 ปีที่แล้ว +184

    Not only is the narrative brilliant, but the themes of the bosses add to it too, express things that we don't get to see in some of the villains. While Collective Consciousness is more from Armstrong's point of view, It Has To Be This Way could be Armstrong or Raiden. The soundtrack could make its own essay.

    • @sonic232s
      @sonic232s ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Borrowing an observation from another essay on the subject? The fact that at a FEVER PITCH, the soundtrack breaks out in to SONG with lyrics singing about the emotions and tensions of the current scene makes MGR a Musical.

    • @rokkraljkolesa9317
      @rokkraljkolesa9317 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      I feel like Collective Consciousness is more like the image Armstrong conveys at a surface level, as it's the theme that plays during Sam's encounter, and later when Raiden faces him in Excelsus
      however, after Armstrong starts explaining his ideology without any of the bullshit for the public, It Has To Be This Way starts playing, Raiden slowly realizing "maybe we're _not_ that different"

    • @gentlyvillainous
      @gentlyvillainous ปีที่แล้ว +2

      All of the themes in mgr are not only absolute bangers but wonderful descriptions of the bosses psyche, past and reasons for being where they are.

    • @rhett3185
      @rhett3185 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Collective Consciousness is basically what Raiden initially sees Armstrong’s worldview as, or even further what both Raiden and Armstrong see the Patriot AI as. Only after the MG is taken down and Armstrong is pressed on his actual beliefs, ‘It has to be this way’ could be either of them.

    • @10011110011
      @10011110011 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Collective consciousness is literally the thing Armatrong hates the most. The whole song is cynical to the letter.

  • @hebiweaponsguy4842
    @hebiweaponsguy4842 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +31

    2:20
    I mean, tbf, there’s Sundowner, who was some random jackass who LOVED war.
    If he could get married to it, he probably would.

    • @heavystalin2419
      @heavystalin2419 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      And if the war were a child, he'd touch it.

    • @SinHurr
      @SinHurr 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      @@heavystalin2419 He'd probably do that anyway, sadly.

    • @OfficialDoctorHawk
      @OfficialDoctorHawk หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      ​@@heavystalin2419 "Kids are cruel, Jack. And I LOVE minors!"

  • @AlriikRidesAgain
    @AlriikRidesAgain ปีที่แล้ว +138

    I am a real American.
    Fight for the rights of every man.
    I am a real American.
    Fight for what's right!!!
    FIGHT FOR YOUR LIIIIIFE!
    -Senator Armstrong

    • @aaronchef82
      @aaronchef82 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      On God

    • @anthonynorman7545
      @anthonynorman7545 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Terry Bollea would 100% vote for him.

    • @ghoulbuster1
      @ghoulbuster1 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      the memes brother

    • @MegaToonzNetwork
      @MegaToonzNetwork ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@aaronchef82is......ARMSTRONG
      BECAUSE THEY HAVE STRONG ASS ARMS

  • @pixelgoat7317
    @pixelgoat7317 ปีที่แล้ว +360

    Aside from the memes, I always thought Armstrong was an amazing villain! A pure showman who is all about the stuff the worst of us here in the U.S. are fervently obsessed with. He's ahead of his time!

    • @teslashark
      @teslashark ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The academic term is Hauntology, thanks, French socialists, but Kojima can't fit this long word into tight scenes.

  • @tschakaOo
    @tschakaOo 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +30

    I really like the exposition in 27:30 with Armstrong lying on the ground dying with his body resembling Raiden's shadow (reflecting a version of him that took a darker path with his understanding of strength and morals)

  • @FreeMANcer
    @FreeMANcer ปีที่แล้ว +504

    Armstrong would win in a landslide on the simple fact that he offers “security “ just by his appearance. Let alone his talking points. He’d atleast win all of the south and every purple state would be a red state.

    • @Lightna
      @Lightna ปีที่แล้ว

      And every deep blue state politician and MSM would do everything in their power to smear him to the edge of Sol and back. But would they be successful in doing so? Every red and hot blooded American would be on Armstrong's side and believe him when he says he would destroy the bureaucrats, media, everything the common American despises, with his bare hands, and nanomachines, son.

    • @Blundabus1337
      @Blundabus1337 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      One neat touch that I don't know if is intentional, but his tie is yellow.
      Dems have blue ties, republicans have red, third party and especially libertarians are yellow.
      I'd vote for him just to screw up the two party system.

    • @darkthunder301
      @darkthunder301 ปีที่แล้ว +79

      He's also the spitting image of a weak and dumb person thinks powerful people should be: large strongman body with the preference and ability to bulldoze their way through problems. The real problem is that Armstrong would be more than smart enough to _keep_ a good portion, easily a majority, of his voters in lock step with his vision to the point where breaking his influence would likely mean resorting to physical violence, much like Raiden.

    • @MaticTheProto
      @MaticTheProto ปีที่แล้ว

      Yup. Americans don’t care if people elsewhere get killed, they‘d vote for him hands down

    • @emberthecatgirl8796
      @emberthecatgirl8796 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      @@darkthunder301 I mean, we saw what happens when a shadow of Armstrong’s charisma falls from power. If Armstrong was able to start in the elections, he would either win, or civil war would erupt.

  • @ionrose1564
    @ionrose1564 ปีที่แล้ว +109

    Hideo Kojima is my favorite game director, his analysis on America and the internet is spot on, but also, his games aren't nihilistic about the problems we face. Like at the end of MGS2, when Raiden gets to choose his new name and life, free of GW's control

    • @Matt_History
      @Matt_History ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Kojima didn't write MGR

    • @EpicRedCondor
      @EpicRedCondor ปีที่แล้ว +7

      MGR wasn't written by Kojima though

    • @madkabal
      @madkabal ปีที่แล้ว

      No it isn't. Kojima's views is stereotypical whiny Japanese man.

    • @andrehashimoto8056
      @andrehashimoto8056 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      ​@@EpicRedCondorhe was still doing advisory work to Platinum since the Franchise was his child in terms of scrip writting

  • @NLT1734
    @NLT1734 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    I think an essay on Raiden would be interesting too. Cause in the post credits seen, he literally says "I got my own war to fight." Meaning that Armstrong did indeed have an impression on Raiden.

  • @TheMexicanDude0882
    @TheMexicanDude0882 ปีที่แล้ว +53

    "Could he get elected?"
    Frankly, I don't into social media, and I'd vote for him. Purely because of the line "fuck chicken shit bureaucrats."
    Guy is just so charismatic.

  • @tinaherr3856
    @tinaherr3856 ปีที่แล้ว +105

    22:46 you could say that about pretty much every character in MGR. The Winds of Destruction are all cyborgs with advanced custom bodies, Sam uses an exo suit to increase his strength and movement to stand up to cyborgs. Blade Wolf and the other robots didn't earn their strength, they didn't train, they were built with their weapons. Raiden himself is a cyborg, and after he got beaten by Sam, he got a new, more advanced body.
    Heck, they even address this in a CODEC call about cyborgs in sports.
    Everyone doesn't fully have their own strength, they just use expensive, high grade technology.
    That is the same type of "cheating" you criticize Armstrong for.

    • @calb6109
      @calb6109 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      yeah, I think critizing Armstrong for that misses the whole point of his character.

    • @thebanditman5663
      @thebanditman5663 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      TBF, Sam before the exosuit, at a very young age took on an entire cartel who had automatic weapons and such... This was before his blade was turned into an HF blade...
      SAM is effectively the perfect example of what Armstrong was talking about, and even after he lost his arm, was given another by Armstrong who could have killed him.

    • @tinaherr3856
      @tinaherr3856 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@thebanditman5663 that is absolutely true.
      Still, Sam used advanced technology to augment his skills during the events of Rising. He would still qualify as "cheating", according to the video

    • @thebanditman5663
      @thebanditman5663 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@tinaherr3856 however this technology has in effect become commonplace now within society. Athletes with cybernetics are mentioned. It’s like phones. Once upon a time only the rich had them, not just because of expense, but because of limited supply, but tech evolved and now everyone can poses them with a little work.
      In Rising, Sam has a single cyborg arm, and an outdated exosuit, but is a better swordsman than Jack because he was traditionally taught. Canonically Sam lost to Jack because Jack after his loss, continued to train, then of course gained access to his repressed ripper personality.

    • @tinaherr3856
      @tinaherr3856 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@thebanditman5663 again, I don't disagree that Sam has skills before and beyond the tech he uses. I was saying that the video is wrong to say that using advanced tech is "cheating"

  • @Americanbadashh
    @Americanbadashh 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Your talk of building community and empathy during this was so so nice to hear

  • @SoulsOfWisdom
    @SoulsOfWisdom ปีที่แล้ว +49

    "He says he could break the President in half with his bare hands and I believe him" Obvious statement of a life time.

  • @gentlyvillainous
    @gentlyvillainous ปีที่แล้ว +150

    And the best part? He still won, even though he died he accepted defeat and he passed his memes onto jack. Just like Sam, mistral, and monsoon.
    As the song says “when our guard is down I think we’ll both agree, violence breeds violence but in the end it has to be this way”
    Idealism is a comfy and pretty idea but it’s unrealistic, in the end the universe is cruel, power dictates truth and even though we want it to be different it has to be this way.
    Even at the end scenes jack agrees with him in a way, if only quietly in his own mind.

  • @jacobruiter592
    @jacobruiter592 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +28

    Great breakdown.
    I genuinely believe that someone grandiose like Armstrong that spouts Nationalism and Individual Strength complimenting community (like you said) would dominate American Culture for the next 100 years. The idealism from the Founding Fathers and call for an united America from Lincoln are literally the basis for everything Americans believe. They all spouted Freedom as being the ultimate ideal.
    Side note: Abraham Lincoln was SO instrumental to America's Unity we have one of our biggest and most famous Monuments dedicated to the man in our Capital. I swear the air around that place feels different.

    • @ElBandito
      @ElBandito 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Except Lincoln wanted national unity, not anarchy born of "every person for themselves". Lincoln also advocated the emancipation of blacks--"the weak" of the society, which Armstrong wanted to purge. Trust me. when you look deeper, Armstrong is just a madman, fallen into his own hype.

    • @geraldfreibrun3041
      @geraldfreibrun3041 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Teddy Roosevelt?

    • @roland228
      @roland228 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Rule of Law is one of the most important principles of America and liberal democracies in general. Rule of Law if fundamentally incompatible with a society "Where the law changes to suit the individual, not the other way around".

    • @SantaFishes101
      @SantaFishes101 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@ElBandito said it good ty

  • @scarletjester7831
    @scarletjester7831 ปีที่แล้ว +97

    The best part of Armstrong is that he appears right at the end and completely steals the show every second he's there. Truly a master class of a villain, his philosophy was also something you could agree with but also understand the means he used were where he went wrong, when he gets to the "Fuck american pride... Fuck everythingthing" in his speech we see that he believes in what he says and it's not a lie to him

    • @slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447
      @slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      his philosophy os also wrong in amd of itself: a world where might makes right is a world devoid of morals

    • @austinkersey2445
      @austinkersey2445 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      ​@@slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447 I would say that Armstrong doesn't just believe in the purely physical "might makes right", as when he describes what he seems to view as strong and weak it tends to revolve around character, morals, principles, ideals, etc. He wants an America where those who are strong enough, intelligent enough, brave enough, or willful enough are able to do what they want to do or what they believe is right and just. His criticisms are about people lacking guiding principles of their own and not bothering to think about why they do the things they do. The real problem is that in Armstrong's America nobody else but him is actually going to follow or understand his values because it will be watered down and simplified. And, when he's gone it would just descend into total anarchy. The issue is not so much Armstrong himself, but rather that his ideals would lose their meaning once actually put into effect, because people would just use it to justify their own evils.

    • @megamillion5852
      @megamillion5852 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      ​@@austinkersey2445 You haven't thought this through, whatsoever. You've still described might makes right, and Armstrong makes a point of this when referring to how Raiden took his life back into his own hands, in spite of his initial conditions limiting his ability to do so. As well, those with severe disabilities would never be strong enough, intelligent enough, nor literally willful enough to simply protect themselves against enemies who are more capable. They would effectively be euthanized en masse, because like Armstrong says, "people will die and kill for what they believe." It's infuriating how a series that inspired such emotion and sympathy over the conditions of war can have a fanbase that ultimately believes in war anyway. If I were Kojima, I couldn't be more heartbroken.

    • @sassyviking6003
      @sassyviking6003 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      ​@@megamillion5852it is truly shocking and appalling to me how many people seem to unironically buy into all Armstrong's bullshit. He is an excellently written villain but he is a villain, vile and reprehensible. It is kind of terrifying that so many people fail to understand that he is wrong or why he is wrong.

  • @heartless2147
    @heartless2147 ปีที่แล้ว +112

    Armstrong having nanomachines doesn't lessen his ideals about strength, he had the opportunity to gain more power and he took it. Others would be able to gain cybernetics, just not the cutting edge stuff that Armstrong has. But if someone was skilled enough to steal the blueprints of those nanomachines, they would have the same power that Armstrong has. As we see with his death by Raiden's hands, he would hold no hard feelings for being taken out by someone who was stronger then him.

    • @acgearsandarms1343
      @acgearsandarms1343 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      It really doesn’t matter what form that power takes. Look at Raiden. I think it just matters how you use that power. Again, like Raiden. And as to Armstrong’s ideology, I believe it’s less about the stronger person killing him, more that the person who kills him embodies his ideology that he’s content with. Raiden, for better or worse, proves Armstrong, at least to a point, that the truly strong can carve out a destiny for themselves, even if they choose to help those who don’t have the strength themselves, and they can kill to keep the “status quo” going. Might makes right.

    • @HungVu-ec3jk
      @HungVu-ec3jk ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@acgearsandarms1343 also it implies that the status quo is not so great and raiden is fighting a lost cause yet refuses to do anything about it

    • @AbyssWatcher745
      @AbyssWatcher745 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      ​@@HungVu-ec3jkWell doesn't Raiden go rogue at the end

    • @dean_l33
      @dean_l33 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@AbyssWatcher745 Going rogue to carry out Armstrong mission. Not literally but come on he's basically doing that

  • @loganlewis1790
    @loganlewis1790 ปีที่แล้ว +68

    The thing about armstrong is that very little he ever said was wrong. The only things he really didnt nail down was the methodology, thats why hes so likable despite everything

  • @mikhaelgribkov4117
    @mikhaelgribkov4117 ปีที่แล้ว +153

    Honestly, I would love Solidus video, as he is often overlooked compared to other villains due to his nature being extension of Big Boss.

    • @couchpotato2222
      @couchpotato2222 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      (And his boss fight cutscene being redone due to accidently predicting 9/11 just as it was about to come out, tying the theme of memes back around on itself)

    • @jjtheenton
      @jjtheenton ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@couchpotato2222 It didn't predict 9/11. Arsenal Gear was meant to crash through the Statue of Liberty, not the Twin Towers. This was removed because Kojima didn't want to come off as insensitive.

    • @MaxLoafin
      @MaxLoafin ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@jjtheenton*remembers ground zeroes*
      Well..... Kojima got over being sensitive, apparently. Lol

    • @samfire3067
      @samfire3067 ปีที่แล้ว

      The Man that wanted to defeat it's creators Just to me imortalised in The history books.

    • @commisaryarreck3974
      @commisaryarreck3974 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@samfire3067
      Tbf that was before everyone knew the US was a warmongering shithole responsible for the attacks themselves alongside funding judt about every terrorist organization on earth
      Fuck sensitivity towards an evil empire

  • @The_NJG
    @The_NJG ปีที่แล้ว +247

    Ain't even gonna lie, Senator Armstrong makes a lot of good points. There is some truth to what he says, whether it's that this country is rotten to the core, or that he says that people have no values, and all they care about is money, or when he says fuck all the media and internet bullshit. I love him and the plot to this game. It's so smart, truthful to an extent, and hilarious.

    • @remimaloney2028
      @remimaloney2028 ปีที่แล้ว

      Except like the majority of people who tell you "fake news" and all that, he himself acknowledges he's a master user of all that rot and corruption. He engineered a social media campaign. How can he then denounce the media as being corrupt?
      The man is a hippocrite. He claims he will abolish the very lever of power that allowed him to ascend. He wants to abolish war by waging war. He wants to reform the media by spreading lies and disinformation.
      He wants to remove bureaucratic innefficiency for a libertarian dictatorship, one of the most self-eating power structure in history.
      If the man is not a vile liar at the core, then hes just delusional.

    • @ArgonmentYT
      @ArgonmentYT ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Dude, all senator armstrong cares about is money lol

    • @C.Hendrick5662
      @C.Hendrick5662 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      ​@@ArgonmentYTI don't think there's any way of knowing that considering a major part of his philosophy (with no evidence that he's lying) is cutting off the source of income he KNOWS to be absolute. Armstrong cares about some fucked up things but he's not all about the green.

    • @Bigtwinkissac209
      @Bigtwinkissac209 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@ArgonmentYTno way in knowing that

    • @jiromcconnell7038
      @jiromcconnell7038 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ​@@ArgonmentYT the truth then he does need capital and votes wanna know why he has a dream

  • @thomashongshagen4912
    @thomashongshagen4912 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I would like to point out that the voice actor that played armstrong also played mimir in gow and celebrimbor in shadow of mordor

  • @floricel_112
    @floricel_112 ปีที่แล้ว +43

    "none of the antagonists are evil for the sake of being evil"
    Literally Sundowner

    • @Aaa-vp6ug
      @Aaa-vp6ug 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      He’s evil because he loves war and the bloodshed that comes from it.

    • @literallytohruadachi
      @literallytohruadachi 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      "YES WE TURN KIDS INTO CYBORG NINJAS AND THEY WILL FIGHT"

  • @tschaka7327
    @tschaka7327 ปีที่แล้ว +65

    So happy you‘re covering this villain.

  • @SchwarzieKun
    @SchwarzieKun ปีที่แล้ว +26

    One thing I love, is that you barely knew Armstrong before his fight, you see him for like 10 seconds in a cutscene, but he was characterized so well during his fight that he is so beloved

  • @TheHedgememe
    @TheHedgememe ปีที่แล้ว +55

    I think an interesting detail in the Armstrong death scene is how Armstrong lies in front of Raiden, almost as if Armstrong is Raiden's own shadow. Paired with the dialogue from Armstrong, and it's pretty interesting. I also like how the camera moves upward to reveal Raiden standing above Armstrong.

    • @Soul_Of_Revan
      @Soul_Of_Revan หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      That’s the beauty of it. They both want the same thing, just have a completely different way of achieving it

  • @26th_Primarch
    @26th_Primarch ปีที่แล้ว +26

    There's actually an internet meme that Armstrong is a part of called "Be the American the Japanese think you are" that plays on the ridiculously over-the-top stereotypes Americans have in Japanese media.

    • @geronimo5537
      @geronimo5537 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      The best part about Armstrong is that: he speaks about freedom like a libertarian, wants total control like a democrat, and is more patriotic to the cause than a republican.

    • @26th_Primarch
      @26th_Primarch ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@geronimo5537 he'd honestly be a damn great president if he had someone to help him tone down the crazier parts of his ideas

    • @MrGamelover23
      @MrGamelover23 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@geronimo5537What do you mean Democrats want total control? Republicans are the ones who keep talking about small government but then want to control everything from what a teacher is required to reveal to their students' parents to what a woman can do with her own body.

  • @brianj.stephan2080
    @brianj.stephan2080 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    Armstrong has the best final boss theme ever

  • @frankkelly8261
    @frankkelly8261 ปีที่แล้ว +289

    I would argue that the reveal that Armstrong is using nanomachines only heightens the deconstruction rather than cheapens it. As you pointed out, people who find Armstrong's ideals compelling are people who cannot or will not recognize that they have weaknesses. One of the most common beliefs among elites in society, especially American society, is that they earned their status through their hard work or superior skills/knowledge/smarts/etc while ignoring that most of the time, there was a lot of luck involved, usually what class they were born in. Likewise, Armstrong points to Raiden as an exemplar of his ideals, ignoring the fact that Raiden didn't have control of his own life for the majority of it. Even his nature as a cyborg and the strength that resulted was because of someone else's influence, not his.
    The hypocrisy merely underlines just how flawed his viewpoint is. Social Darwinism claims to be about weeding out the weak, but all it really is are the privileged enforcing weakness upon the underprivileged to keep their position as the "strong". It merely creates more weakness, the exact opposite of the philosophy's stated goals.

    • @sassyviking6003
      @sassyviking6003 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

      Wow, I've yet to see this put so clearly and understandably. Well done.

    • @MatthewTeachout-xj4yy
      @MatthewTeachout-xj4yy 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I believe Armstrong meant PHYSICAL strength more than anything(not that I totally agree with him)

    • @Garethaxz
      @Garethaxz 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      This is the part which flies over most folk's heads, those who invoke social darwinism understand neither darwin nor society, yet feel assured they'd stand as "winners" in the eyes of both.

    • @Wayne-jh4mi
      @Wayne-jh4mi 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

      Except strength isn't the absence of weakness. That's one of the very few things I disagree with in the whole analysis. Having weaknesses does not and has never meant not strong no one's perfect no one's strong and every single aspect. Being strong is just maximizing your strengths and minimizing your weakness. You can say swordsmanship is Armstrong's weakness but that doesn't mean he's weak.
      (Being strong is the ability to do)

  • @samuelantoniocastillomeza5034
    @samuelantoniocastillomeza5034 ปีที่แล้ว +90

    Armstrong is truly insane but his charm and he saying what we think of bureocracy and similar crap might make us overlook that for a while. Such a memorable villain that steals the spotlight with mere minutes of showing up.

    • @avroarchitect1793
      @avroarchitect1793 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      He is right about the bureaucrats being a huge problem. Think about how much the buraucracies of every institution in our lives have multiplied their sizes 300% or more in the last 2 decades. And how we keep inventing new ones to just give people with near useless degrees a job in an already oversatuated market for their major or education level. We are legislating and bureaucratizing away every aspect of our lives and free will. Giving those decisions up to a policy written by an "expert" with no experience in real life or any connection to you and your unique situation.

    • @lifegrain6092
      @lifegrain6092 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      armstrong just appear at the end of the main game, and took the main character spot for a while
      until he lets raiden have his spotlight back
      the only reason raiden could be at the center of attention at the last cutscene is only because armstrong bowed out
      he's great because he's gone before he could turn into a bad character, we want more of him but the devs know better than to make him stale

  • @mrmudkipz4583
    @mrmudkipz4583 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Something I love to relate to this fight is when buzz and woody fight in toy story. When riden uses Sam's sword because his sword is a "tool of justice" but Sam's isn't. It's like the part of toy story where buzz says "but we're not on my planet. Are we?"

  • @thesandman2426
    @thesandman2426 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    The shadow of the protagonist trope is even more blatant in his death scene literally laying down in Raiden's shadow. It's great use of camera work to emphasize storytelling.

  • @yeah_definitely
    @yeah_definitely ปีที่แล้ว +256

    Everytime I see Armstrong I can feel the patriotism

    • @nielsjensen4185
      @nielsjensen4185 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      *Nationalism

    • @yeah_definitely
      @yeah_definitely ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @@nielsjensen4185 no. Patriotism

    • @JohnBrown-tw2qi
      @JohnBrown-tw2qi ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@yeah_definitelysame difference

    • @BababooeyGooey
      @BababooeyGooey ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@JohnBrown-tw2qi All shit.

    • @twinzzlers
      @twinzzlers ปีที่แล้ว +22

      ​@@JohnBrown-tw2qiNo there is a difference. Patriotism is loving your country and being loyal to it, nationalism is the belief of its superiority

  • @glen3133
    @glen3133 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    "out-americaning the irl politicians" is the crazy version of out-pizzaing the hut

  • @The5lacker
    @The5lacker ปีที่แล้ว +769

    The fact that Armstrong is, at the end of the day, a dirty cheater and a hypocrite, is to me at least *perfect.* Of course the guy shouting about “We should all be free!” is only talking about himself. “We” to these people always, *always* actually means “I.”

    • @coletrain41
      @coletrain41 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Exactly. It's easy to spew rhetoric about "every man should be allowed to follow his own rules" when your a wealthy, manipulative, Nano enhanced monster. He only has the guts to talk so confidentially about because he feels (and for a large part IS) indestructible

    • @aramis4347
      @aramis4347 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      What if he was used as a reskin for TF2's "VS. Saxton Hale" mode?

    • @gratuitouslurking8610
      @gratuitouslurking8610 ปีที่แล้ว +93

      Raiden sums it up quite well: "You're not greedy.... you're batshit insaaaaaane!!!"
      Edit to extrapolate: Over my last thirty-odd years, watching the internet grow from sapling to the gnarled husk we know it as today, I've seen my fair share of hard libertarian types, especially when crypto became the big interest for them. It seems the harder line you go past 'a man's freedom only ends by another man's fist' the more you realize a lot of these turbo-libertarians for some reason think you can simultaneously live in a universe where they're on top and yet also sell it how everyone else can, while also with a bit of squinting realizing that the type of life and mindsets they're often wishing for sounds suspiciously like being the top of the feudalism totem pole.
      Armstrong's not immune to this either of course, his views are a hyper-focused might make right sort of libertarianism, but well, look at the man! I'd seriously argue and debate how much of his philosophy is just part of a twisted form of bloodlust, something that is kinda another theme of MG:R in general considering how many of the other stories are some level of 'how does the rest of the cast cope with being mass murderers?'

    • @ShadeKirby500
      @ShadeKirby500 ปีที่แล้ว

      It does weaken his relatability. Since yeah, its obvious now he will rule the utopia of shit that he would create. But as you stated, yeah it makes so much sense, because we see this all the time. People with power framing a change as beneficial for everyone, when in reality, its only because it benefits them, you'll never see the benefit of that change.

    • @alexdornenherz
      @alexdornenherz ปีที่แล้ว +70

      That's not much of a realization, he even says it himself. His goal is the total freedom of the individual and the natural, evolutionary survival of the fittest. Screw communism and capitalism, anarchy is the way to go.

  • @Corny-pe8ut
    @Corny-pe8ut ปีที่แล้ว +63

    Brett, please try the Yakuza(/Like A Dragon) games, the villains deserve your attention. The series itself feels right up your alley and seeing the love for Armstrong makes me feel like you'd love seeing both the serious and ridiculous antagonists in Yakuza!

    • @weirdguy1495
      @weirdguy1495 ปีที่แล้ว

      But especially the Judgment games. Those villains are video gold.

    • @Corny-pe8ut
      @Corny-pe8ut ปีที่แล้ว

      @@weirdguy1495 ESPECIALLY THE JUDGMENT GAMES

    • @SuperNeos2
      @SuperNeos2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I need my Kuriowa and Kuwana videos now!!!

  • @lukegeraci1743
    @lukegeraci1743 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    The fact hes the same voice actor as Mimir is hilarious

  • @thatonepersonwhoair-dropsy268
    @thatonepersonwhoair-dropsy268 ปีที่แล้ว +53

    The nanomachines actually don't make Armstrong stronger, they just make his skin virtually impenetrable

    • @周生生-f1f
      @周生生-f1f ปีที่แล้ว

      You can't literally hit the gym hard enough to be able to lift a few thousand tons of the Excelsus' remains, or literally cause the ground to erupt in flames. The nanomachines did significantly more than just make him significantly more durable.

    • @zamaskowany12
      @zamaskowany12 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      Even if they did, so what? Raiden is basically 99% augmented himself.

  • @espio87
    @espio87 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    I love how Max0r changed much of the dialogue in his videos on MGR but Armstrong's ideals are kept intact. 😂

  • @Сектор-с5я
    @Сектор-с5я ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Senator Armstrong is the good deconstraction of the villian is because he is honest and not a viliian if you wathing on his deeds. If Stiven Armstrong was a true villian as a Homelander of some freak, he will not so merciful to the Sam and Raiden and he has a other purpors not like a true villian, that want Power and money(for power). Stiven Armstrong is the best the personification of a politician who cannot talk about his dream, because he could be considered a fascist. And with Raiden he saying true because he know, that he would be agreed with him, deep inside.

  • @michaelar9954
    @michaelar9954 ปีที่แล้ว +45

    this man encapsulates what i love about metal gear rising, it manages to be ridiculous and over-the-top, yet somehow use that to deliver really interesting and deep takes and themes, the writing is just amazing in this game

  • @Scooter7891
    @Scooter7891 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    It's scary how often this franchise predicts the future.

  • @KaiserNightcoreMusic
    @KaiserNightcoreMusic 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    13:15 he would win election IRL singlehandedly with that speech.

  • @andrewwang8021
    @andrewwang8021 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    Didn't expect a deconstruction of this character. A nice surprise.

  • @Sjono
    @Sjono ปีที่แล้ว +76

    2:23 “The game has antagonists where none of them are killing for the sake of killing. None of whom are evil the sake of being evil.”
    Sundowner: “Allow me to introduce myself.”

    • @FlackBackTV
      @FlackBackTV 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

      Even then, Sundowner thinks Violence is as pure and natural as love itself. Red Sun puts it the best I think;
      "Only Love is with us now,
      Something warm and pure
      Violence breeds within ourselves (Or find the peace within ourselves idk)
      No need for a cure."

    • @land_and_air1250
      @land_and_air1250 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Each is flawed but each believes they are just. Each a possible future for Ryden and in turn the player and each a criticism if the main character through acting as a foil

    • @Diddythediddlergod
      @Diddythediddlergod 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      nah he just loves miners

  • @amanwhodoesthings
    @amanwhodoesthings 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    “people would find it appealing” bro, I FIND IT APPEALING i know it would never work tho

  • @TeeBagger
    @TeeBagger ปีที่แล้ว +34

    Fun fact: Armstrong was voiced by Alastair Duncan, the same guy who voiced Mimir in the 2 recent God of War games

    • @stormbldebb9344
      @stormbldebb9344 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      First time I heard that it sounded insane, now after hearing it so many times I can hear it.
      Especially in the first line

    • @filipporapetti9354
      @filipporapetti9354 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      He also voiced Celebrimbor in Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War! That guy is an absolute legend

    • @kjj26k
      @kjj26k ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I like Mimir a lot more as character. He is wise and kind and chill.
      Armstrong was fun to have as a nemesis, but I was glad to kill him.

  • @samwhy4974
    @samwhy4974 ปีที่แล้ว +47

    come to think of it, maybe it wasn't a mistake that Armstrong used nanomachines to get an edge in the fight he knew was coming. he didnt know it WOULD be Raiden but eventually he knew someone would come to challenge, rival, or equal his power. power both symbolically and physically. power in their ideals or the philosophy in strength determining right. carving your own path because no-one can stop you. it takes years, training and incredible motivation to get to where and what Raiden is.
    so to be able to create that successor or rivaling "hero" Armstrong needed to be the biggest threat in both symbol and presence. only someone who was strong enough in motivation and strength equal to his would be able to take him down. which proves his concept.
    also something else I noticed at the end; as Armstrong speaks his last words about kindred spirits we see the red light leave his eyes but as the camera pans back to Raiden we see a similar light shine in his. Raiden might not believe in Armstrong's ideals but he nonetheless is proof that they aren't exactly wrong and even that that's not by nature a bad thing. Raiden is free to do good and does, despite it being through the business end of a sword that can cut through almost anything. with that in mind also know that in this world Armstrong envisions a person like Raiden is truly rare, wanting to good and having the strength to do it.
    mistral killed for the sake, sundowner was a cruel bastard who created child soldiers for fun, monsoon was searching for truth/reason in endless war, and Jetstream Sam was a man who lost himself in pursuit of revenge and eventually didn't even know why he was fighting anymore. each children of Armstrong's beliefs and yet all were to be pitied in some way. which i would list if i had time.

  • @GeorgeCowsert
    @GeorgeCowsert ปีที่แล้ว +7

    The funny thing is, Raiden and Armstrong do fundamentally agree on the idea that strength is virtuous, with one caveat.
    Armstrong thinks that strength absolves you of wrong.
    Raiden thinks that strength should be used to make sure people can't force the "could-be-strong" to be weak.
    In a society where every disagreement is solved via armwrestling, it is objectively unfair to gatekeep access to the gym or to cut off your opponents arms.
    You have essentially robbed them of their ability to be free.
    Raiden advocates for a purely viruous strength, where the only thing keeping the weak from becoming strong is their own desire.
    It's a great moment of accidental Libertarianism that more people need to appreciate.

  • @Gendo3s2k
    @Gendo3s2k ปีที่แล้ว +28

    Everyone has weakness, but not everyone is weak

    • @imigratingbox
      @imigratingbox 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Weak are purged, more weak appear relative to the new situation